Each year, an alarming number of wild game hunters are accidentally shot by other hunters due to mistaken identity, poor visibility, or mere carelessness. For example, in November 1991, a father and his son, along with three of their friends, were hunting white-tail deer in New York State. When the hunting party spotted their first deer, the hunters split up to encircle the deer. Minutes later, the father fired a shot and ran towards the prey. When the other hunters arrived, they discovered the father lying over his son's body crying. The father had shot his own son through the head, killing him instantly. Friends later surmised either that a deer had run between the father and his son, or that the father mistook his son's white and black cap for a white tail deer.
These types of tragic hunting accidents, and others, are sometimes referred to as hunter judgment accidents. Unfortunately, the potential for such accidents can be greatly increased by the very tactics employed by hunters to evade detection by their prey. For example, it is common for hunters to don highly camouflaged clothing, which can render them extremely difficult to detect by other hunters. This fact, coupled with the cautions and stealth movements of hunters, can lead to hunters being mistaken by other hunters for the prey being hunted. In addition, the increasing popularity of wild game hunting and the increased density of hunters in popular hunting areas also contributes to the number of hunter judgment accidents that occur each year.
Some techniques to reduce the incidents of hunter judgment accidents have been proposed and implemented in recent years. One such technique has been embodied in hats, vests, and other hunting apparel that are dyed hunter orange and worn by hunters in the field. Hunter orange is a bright fluorescent color that is easy for the human eye to detect, yet undetectable by colorblind game animals such as deer, elk, and related species. In theory, all hunters wear a hunters orange vest or cap such that each hunter is easily distinguishable from wild game.
Although studies show that the use of hunter orange has dramatically reduced the number of deer hunting two-party hunter judgment accidents, these type of shootings still occur. While hunter orange can be used effectively when hunting deer, their related species, and other color-blind animals, there is a major shortcoming with hunter orange that significantly contributes to the continued cases of two-party hunter judgment accidents. Hunter orange is only effective when it can be seen by other hunters within range of their weapons. Therefore, the effectiveness of hunter orange can be totally negated by the contours of the land, dense vegetation and other terrain features. In addition, the fact that some hunters refuse to wear the hunter orange clothing can aggravate the problem since movements of non-wearers might more easily be confused as being those of prey rather than hunter.
Hunter orange can not be used effectively with all types of game hunting because some game, in particular the wild turkey, can actually distinguish color and, therefore, detect the presence of a hunter wearing hunter orange. The restoration efforts of wildlife agencies have been so phenomenally successful that today most states have wild turkey hunting seasons. This has caused a resurgence in the popularity of turkey hunting to the point that presently, according to some surveys, it is the fastest growing hunting sport and, if the trend continues, could soon have as many participants as does deer hunting. This presents a real safety problem because studies already indicate that of all forms of game hunting, wild turkey hunting is the most dangerous for the potential of two-party shooting accidents.
Accordingly, a persistent and heretofore unaddressed need exists for a reliable method and enabling device adapted to alert a hunter to the presence of other hunters within range of his weapon without detracting from the effectiveness of traditional camouflage techniques and without alerting game with keen senses to the presence of hunters. It is to the provision of such a method and device that the present invention is primarily directed.